The spaces immediately adjacent the engine in a modern automobile have become quite congested with auxiliary equipment and necessary accessories to the engine. Access to the spark plugs in many engines has become very difficult. Oftentimes the mechanic can hardly see the location of the spark plug, and in many instances, it is almost impossible for the mechanic to reach his hand into the vicinity of the cover or boot for the spark plug for the purpose of removing the boot when the spark plug is to be changed.
Modern engines are constructed so that the engine block has a well or deep recess for each of the spark plugs, and the threads into which the spark plug is turned are disposed at the bottom of the well so that the spark plug is nearly concealed in the well and access to the spark plug is extremely difficult.
Each spark plug is enclosed by a rubber or soft plastic cover or boot for the purpose of protecting the spark plug against physical damage and against being wetted due to splashing water and similar contaminants.
Of course, the spark plug wire and boot are subject to considerable amount of damage if the mechanic merely grips the wire and pulls the boot from the plug; and when this is done, the wire will oftentimes separate from the boot, necessitating the purchase and installation of a replacement wire and boot assembly.
Although it is highly desirable that the boot itself be gripped, oftentimes the boot is located in the well for the spark plug so that access to the boot becomes extremely difficult. Even if the mechanic can manually grip the outer end of the boot where it emerges from the spark plug well, removal of the boot without damaging it cannot be accomplished with certainty. Oftentimes the boot has been in place on the spark plug for a considerable number of months or a couple of years, and, in order to loosen the boot from the spark plug, it is necessary to grasp and rotate the boot prior to exerting an endwise pull.
None of the tools in the prior art have been suitable for properly handling a spark plug cover or boot during the removal of the boot from the spark plug.